The instant invention relates to animal traps, more specifically to traps used to catch small animals alive and without injury to the animal.
Small animals, especially small rodents, have posed a scourge to mankind since the beginnings of civilization. It has been the challenge of many an inventor to build the xe2x80x9cbetter mousetrapxe2x80x9d. The traditional mousetrap utilizes a spring mechanism with a sensitive trigger which kills the animal, often in a messy and unsanitary manner. There have been a number of mousetraps that have attempted to trap the mouse or other such small animal without the injuries and unsanitary results incident to the more familiar types of traps.
An early example of such an animal trap is taught by Pease et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 1,240,248. An elongated container, square in cross section and tapering from an open front end to a closed back end, has a fulcrum on its undersurface near the front end. A sliding gate with an opening at the bottom and two uneven legs is raised and balanced in the open position and the container is tipped toward the front end. When the animal enters and moves to the back end the container shifts and tilts toward the back end and the gate descends trapping the animal inside. The inventor suggested that this trap be made of glass, the only moldable material available at that time. This trap appears to present difficulties with the balancing of the container while maintaining the gate in the open position.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,485,319, Rosen teaches an oblong container, square in cross section, open at the front end and closed at the back end, and with a fulcrum in the form of a rod affixed to the underside of the container at a point near the front end. One segment of an L-shaped rod is pivotally affixed across the bottom of the open front end and cooperates with a gate that rests on the ground. The other segment of the rod is held parallel to the side wall and is weighted at the top. When an animal enters the container and moves to the back end toward the bait, the container tilts rearward causing the weight to fall rearward and the gate to rise, closing the front end. The gate is not locked in any manner and the force of the animal charging toward the front end could tilt the container forward and cause the gate to be opened.
Spiller (U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,523) discloses a similar trap which has the fulcrum closer to the midpoint of the container. When the animal causes the container to tilt rearward, a rotatable gate swings downward and is supported on the floor preventing the door from being opened by the animal""s movements. If the supporting floor or ground is not flat the door cannot be properly supported and may not completely close the entryway. This trap is made up of only two pieces. The similar device of Sackett (U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,305) is round in cross section, has a removable back wall, and is closed by the dropping of a ball or spool that is balanced above the entrance or by a gate that is balanced within side slots.
Oviatt, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,918, describes a Y-shaped tube balanced on a frame acting as a pivot. The animal enters into a downward facing branch of the Y and moves into the straight portion which pivots downward causing a ping pong ball balanced in the other branch of the Y to fall into the tube trapping the animal. The frame must be place on a flat horizontal surface for the trap to function properly. Oviatt also teaches a tubular chamber with a fulcrum and an entrance on one side near the front end. When the chamber tilts rearward under the weight of the animal a ping pong ball is released into the chamber to trap the animal. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,125) These traps are constructed of a number of individual pieces which make manufacture expensive and impractical.
A rodent trap in the form of an elongated container with two contiguous bottom surfaces forming an obtuse angle is disclosed by Melton in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,892. This device is open at the front end and closed at the back end. There is a front gate attached by a hinge formed as a stressed line or depression in the material of the unitary structure. The gate has a short closing tab situated in the center of the bottom edge of the gate and formed at a right angle to the gate. A raised point in the end of the tab is the locking element. There is a small depression in the underside of the container to accept the raised point and hold the door closed. When the trap is set the container rests on the first bottom surface and the gate is held open by the tab. The only access to the interior of the trap is around the sides of the partially opened gate. The weight of the animal as it moves to the back of the container causes the container to tilt backward and rest on the second bottom surface and the gate to swing closed. Melton adds a magnet situated at the front edge of the container and a magnetized door since the locking mechanism is not secure. The device of Chow (U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,170) has a curved bottom and operates in the same manner. Chow uses a gate that must be balanced against the top of two side slots and which is caused to fall into the slots when the chamber rocks rearward. This device must be balanced carefully to hold the gate open.
The prior art traps either rely on gates that must be carefully balanced to remain open, or gates that do not provide a full opening and easy access to the interior of the chamber. Any irregularities in the supporting surface could prevent the balance that is necessary for proper operation.
There is a need for a small animal trap that can completely contain the animal and does not injure the animal in an unsanitary manner while providing wide access to the interior and a secure and sensitive locking gate to insure closure and prevent the animal""s escape.
The instant invention provides a trap for small animals, specifically rodents, that will cause the animal to enter the trap easily and will close quickly and securely.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide an animal trap that has a wide open entry for easy access to the interior.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide a weighted and balanced door that closes quickly and solidly when the trap is activated.
It is a further object of the instant invention to have the weighting of the door part of the construction and design.
It is another object of the instant invention to have a door locking mechanism that is sure and secure.
It is a further object of the instant invention to have a removable rear panel for easy placement of bait.
It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide the rear panel with a bait receiving element that is situated off center so as to enable the bait to be set at more than one position or level.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide stabilizers so that the chamber cannot be toppled over if the trapped animal moves about violently.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an animal trap that does not require many parts so as to be easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
The instant invention is a small animal trap that is capable of capturing the animal alive and without injury. The trap has a tubular chamber with a front opening and a rear opening and is composed of two contiguous segments, a first forward segment and a second rearward segment, each of the segments being defined by an upper surface, a lower surface, and two side walls, and the segments being joined such that the lower surfaces of the two segments form an obtuse angle. There are two pivot pins, each situated on an upper exterior surface of one of the side walls adjacent to the front opening and a rear closure panel having an interior surface and an exterior surface and being dimensioned to reversibly and securely close the rear opening. A bait receiving element integral with the interior surface of the rear closure panel is situated at point off center on the interior surface so as to permit different positioning of bait. There is a transverse locking channel situated on the exterior lower surface of the first segment. A front door assembly comprising a front closure panel having an upper edge and a lower edge and being dimensioned to securely close the front opening, two ears situated on opposing upper corners of the front closure panel, integral therewith, and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom, each of the ears having an aperture dimensioned to pivotally receive the pivot pins and enabling the front closure panel to be pivoted upward to a horizontal orientation when the trap is set and downward and to close the front opening when the trap is activated, two support legs integral with said front closure panel and projecting downward at right angles from opposing corners of the lower edge thereof such that the support legs maintain the front closure panel in the open horizontal orientation while providing substantially unobstructed accessibility to the front opening when the trap is set. A locking member is situated at the bottom of each support leg and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom for cooperation with the locking channel when the trap is activated. When the trap is set the forward segment is in a substantially horizontal orientation, the front closure panel is open, and bait is placed on the bait receiving element to entice an animal to enter the trap through the front opening and move rearward activating the trap, at which time the chamber tilts rearward, the front closure panel pivots downward to close the front opening and the locking members engage the locking channel securely entrapping the animal.
The instant invention encompasses an improved small animal trap of a type having a tubular chamber with two integral floor segments, a forward segment and a rearward segment forming an obtuse angle, and an open front end, where the improvements comprise an open back end with a removable closure panel having an interior surface and an exterior surface and being dimensioned to reversibly and securely close the open back end and enable easy placement of bait inside the chamber. A bait receiving element is integral with the interior surface of the back closure panel and situated at a point off center on said interior surface so as to permit different positioning of bait. Two pivot pins are each situated on an upper exterior surface of each side of the forward segment of the chamber adjacent the open front end. There is a transverse locking channel situated on the exterior undersurface of the forward segment and a front door assembly which comprises a front closure panel having an upper edge and a lower edge and being dimensioned to securely close the front closure panel having an upper edge and a lower edge and being dimensioned to securely close the front opening, two ears situated on opposing upper corners of the front closure panel, integral therewith, and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom, each of the ears having an aperture dimensioned to pivotally receive the pivot pins and enable the front closure panel to be pivoted upward to a horizontal orientation when the trap is set and downward to close the front opening when the trap is activated. Two support legs are integral with the front closure panel and project downward at right angles from opposing corners of the lower edge thereof such that the support legs maintain the front closure panel in the open horizontal orientation while providing substantially unobstructed accessibility to the front opening when the trap is set. There is a locking member situated at the bottom of each support leg and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom for cooperation with the locking channel when the trap is activated.
The instant invention also encompasses a pivotal door assembly for use with a small animal trap of a type having a chamber with two floor segments, a forward segment and a rearward segment forming an obtuse angle, an open front end, a closed back end, a locking channel on the underside of the forward end, and two pivot pins, each situated on an upper exterior surface of the chamber adjacent the open front end. The door assembly comprises a front closure panel having an upper edge and a lower edge and being dimensioned to securely close the front opening, two ears situated on opposing upper corners of said front closure panel, integral therewith, and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom, each of said ears having an aperture dimensioned to pivotally receive the pivot pins and to enable the front closure panel to be pivoted upward to a horizontal orientation when the trap is set and to swing downward to a closed orientation when the trap is activated, two support legs integral with the front closure panel and projecting downward at right angles from opposing corners of the lower edge thereof such that said support legs maintain the front closure panel in the open horizontal orientation while providing substantially unobstructed accessibility to the front opening when the trap is set, and a locking member situated at the bottom of each support leg and projecting rearward at right angles therefrom for cooperation with the locking channel when the trap is activated.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be seen from the following description and drawings.